Phases of Love Sabaku no Gaara
by TaintedxWings7
Summary: We all know that Hogwarts is the Best Wizarding School in the entire world. However, what happens when you mixed Magic and Chakra? What happens when a certain young Kazekage falls for a girl who doesn't even know how to lie? Just what are wizard to do?
1. Chapter 1

Okay, this is a DISCLAIMER! I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter or any of the characters except for Arata. So DON'T GET IT TWISTED!

I'd never given much thought to it, but there really was no point in having a friggin' feast just because we ended spring break. Seriously, it's never happened before, so why should it happen now? I sighed as I took my seat at the end of the Gryffindor table. No one really talked to me at the table. I don't think anyone really liked me, either. I think it was because I'd always been so _blunt_. The first thing I said to Harry Potter when I met him was that I thought he was cute. I said the Weasley twins were weird. I thought Hermione was a friggin' know-it-all. I thought Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were ditzy-hag-clones. A lot of the Gryffindors said I'd fit in better with Slytherins. I disagreed. They corrected themselves when I told Pansy Parkinson that I thought the majority of the Slytherin girls from the third year up were whores and the boys were mindless zombies driven by their sex drive. I guess I deserved the isolation, not that it particularly bothered me. I'd always been a loaner, even my father thought so.

So as I sat there, pondering the pointless feast, I didn't expect my home life to crash into my school life. I mean the fact that I was here was odd in and of itself, but that didn't bother the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Man he had a weird name. His full name was Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Now, how the hell did a normal name like Brian get in there? Seriously? What, did her mom lose her inspiration or something? Or did his dad decide to reign her in before she called him anything stupid like Nikabrik? Anyway, Dumbledore had always been a reformist, always looking to make the world a better place. I kinda admired him. I kinda thought he was completely insane. But then, so was I, so that really didn't count for much. Especially since I never learned how to lie, I just learned to hold my tongue or answer things vaguely.

I was still stuck on why we were having a bloody feast to end spring break when Dumbledore stood up to address the school.; It all fell silent. God, that was cool.

"My dear students," said Dumbledore, with a bright smile on hyis face. "I assume you've all been wondering why we are having this feast."

_Damn straight_, I thought.

"Well, it would be my pleasure to announce a historical moment in History," he said. "Tonight, The children of magic will dine with the Progeny of Chakra!"

My mouth fell open. This had to be a joke? How did this happen? They wouldn't reveal themselves to a school of wizards, would they?

But the great oak doors swung open, and there they were. I was shocked to see that the one in the front was my very own Kage. He was the Kazekage of my village, Sunagakure no Sato. Subaku no Gaara. I knew a lot about him, naturally. He was only five years older than me, pegging him at twenty. He died before, and he was an _extraordinary_ ninja. Flanking him to his left was his older sister, Temari no Kaze and flanking his left was his older brother, Kankurou no Kugutsu-shukun. Behind them was Gaara's student and Assistant, Matsuri.

All around me, I could hear the buzz of the hall as they walked down the aisle, their nimble feet barely audible on the limestone floors. Every time I saw the Kazekage, I was overwhelmed by his presence, his powerful aura. Not like Old Man Dumbledore, but still, just as strong.

"My dear lord Kazekage," said Dumbledore warmly. "Shall we greet each other the British way, or the Japanese way?"

"Neither," said Gaara. "We've been greeted well enough."

Dumbledore nodded.

"And now, a speech from the Kazekage, give him your full, undivided attention," Dumbledore said.

"He is so hott," Lavender giggled to her best friend, who only giggled in return.

"That _hottie_ can kill you in less than a second," I told them.

They both glared at me, then looked at Kazekage-sama. He approached the podium and looked out over the school, doing a quick survey of everyone.

"I can see that many of you are shocked," he said with a self-satisfied smirk. "And rightly so, because Ninja and Wizards have been quarreling since they parted company ages ago. It is my belief, no, it is the belief of the Leaders of the Five Great Villages of Konoha, Suna, Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri that we end this mindless squabble. We have so much to learn from each other, and so much to understand-"

"You can't be a Kage, you're too young!" shouted Draco Malfoy from the Slytherin table.

I smirked and Gaara let out an eerie chuckle that resonated through the hall.

"True, I'm only Twenty years old," Gaara said to Malfoy. "But Age doesn't matter, I am still quite capable of killing everyone in this room. Not that I will, of course."

I frowned sympathetically, I don't think anyone would want Gaara to return to his old ways.

"Besides," said Gaara. "I became the Kazekage when I was fourteen, so I do think I know what I'm doing."

"Burn," said the Weasley twins.

Gaara resumed his original speech.

"As the Kazegae, I will be here at Hogwarts for the rest of the year during school hours," he said. "Why? Because I have a class that I will teach all grades, by the request of the Headmaster, Ninja theory and history. When you all arrive at your dorms tonight, there will be textbooks on your beds, placed there by my brother."

Kankurou-dono nodded and grinned.

"And let me tell you something, I will not take any crap, so I wouldn't suggest you start anything in my class," said Gaara in a cold tone.

I was the first one to start clapping, to everyone's surprise. The Kazkeage's eyes zeroed in on me, But I kept my expression free of anything that would give me away. I never met the Kazekage personally, my father always handed me the missions because he worked directly with the Kazekage and I was, as I said, a loaner. I was never one for teamwork. Daddy was scared of my meeting the Kazekage, thought I was going to offend him or something.

Anyway, a confused Hogwarts student body joined my in clapping, it was a while before the students started clapping properly. Like with the Umbridge bitch. God I hated her. I made it a personal goal not to talk in her class because then I'd complain about how she wasn't teaching us shit. I was part of the DA, so I was still learning loads from harry, but he found it awkward talking to me because when he asked me what I thought of his teaching I told him that it reminded me of fantasies about staying after with the teacher. It was odd, because I told him it was only sexual attraction, not anything to go off of. Bloody idiot, men are stupid.

Gaara-sama left the Podium and I saw my superiors join the high table with the teacher. Dumbledore stood and said my favorite line ever.

"Let the feast begin!"

I let out a cheer with most of the students and began eating. I didn't engage in the conversation as I ate. I found no reason to, no one ever clued me in on anything. I was the first one to leave the Great Hall that night, and I went directly up to the Gryffindor Tower. It was always like that. The first to leave or arrive somewhere. Man, sometimes being a loaner was really depressing. I mean, I could probably make _some_ friends if I'd learned to shut up, but what was the point of trying to hide who I was? What was the point in keeping pointless secrets? None. That's what. So I decided to let them be, and they'll let me be. I took my evening shower, I was the only one who did, then put on my short blue night dress and went to bed. The last thought on my mind was whether or not I was going to dignify Draco Malfoy with an answer to his request for a date. Oh, what a simple-minded fool I was.


	2. Chapter 2

**Stage Two: I'm Just Blunt, that's All**

The Gryffindors didn't have class with the Kazekage until Thursday. It was normally a zero period, and we had it with the Slytherins. I wasn't too thrilled about taking a class that I already knew. It was strange though. Why did the Gryffindors have all the cool classes with total ass-tarts like Slytherins? Anyway, I wasn't too thrilled. Usually, I arrived to class first, but this time, I was almost late. And everyone else was there. The only seat left was in the back. Fine with me. It seemed that my classmates were totally stoked for the class. We only had to wait three seconds after the bell rang before Gaara disappeared in a wave of sand. Show-off. The class all jumped in shock and surprise. I had to suppress a snort because he had way cooler tricks than that.

"hey," he said with a smirk.

The girls all sighed. I nearly gagged.

"I'm going to start you all off with a quiz," said Gaara-sama. "To see if you've opened your books since you've gotten them."

This time there was a collective groan throughout the class.

"You and you," he said, pointing to Lavender and Blaise, "Pass out these tests."

The two hopped up and took the papers and distributed it to the class.

"You may begin," Gaara said. "You have forty minutes."

I looked at the test and cold barely hide the disgust I felt. These questions were so painfully easy that I couldn't even dignify them with an answer. So I just turned over and began doodling on the back. He could fail me if he wanted. This test could be answered by any kid in the Ninja world who's never been to the Academy.

"Time's up," said Gaara, forty minutes later.

He spent that time doing some much-needed paperwork.

"You and you, collect the papers," Gaara said.

Harry and Pansy Parkinson stood up and collected papers. It took Gaara-sama all of ten minutes to finished grading those papers.

"I must say," he said, "I'm extremely disappointed. Only one person passed, and that was Hermione Granger."

Hermione smiled, clearly mollified by her genius.

"But I am curious," said Gaara-sama, "at this black paper. Arata? No last name?"

"That'd be me," I said, raising my hand lazily.

"Did you not read the book?"

"Oh no, I've read the book," I said, wrinkling my nose. "I just couldn't bring myself to dignify those questions with an answer."

Gaara's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Those questions are so painfully generic that even a child who never went to the Academy would know what the answer was," I scoffed. "How could I bear to answer such easy questions? It's an insult to my knowledge."

Gaara looked at me with cold curiosity.

"What village are you from?" he asked bluntly.

The class gasped as I pulled my necklace from under my shirt. It was a silver hourglass, the emblem of Suna.

"Yours," I said. "_My daddy didn't want me to meet you because he thought I might offend you… something about my brutal honesty_."

"_Who's your father_?"

"Baki," I said with a sigh. "_Poor old man, he goes on and on about discovering the opposite gender. Honestly, tell me, doesn't that sound like a scientist who's found some strange bug species? And how can you discover something that's been there all along? I mean, come on_!"

Gaara nodded understandingly.

"_I heard Baki had a daughter, but I'd never thought I'd meet her."_

"_Well, you have_," I said with a smile.

"_You're a jounin, correct_?"

"Hai."

"Nande-"

"What the hell is going on?" asked Theodore Knott, interrupting our conversation.

"Oh, nothing, my dear Theo," I said with a smile. "Just trying to figure out why we've met before especially when my father trained our new teacher, ne, Kazekage-sama?"

"Hai," he said, nodding. "I guess I won't be grading you on your work in this class, Arata-san."

"So," I said hopefully. "Can I go?"

"No," said Gaara. "You're going to be my TA."

"Aw cripes," I complained. You're mean!"

He just smirked. But then he addressed the entire class. "But I really am disappointed in all of you," he said coldly. "For homework, I want you to read the first chapter and do all of the comprehension questions at the end of the chapter, on my desk when class starts. No, Arata, it would be pointless to make you do that when you already know the content."

I smiled.

"No, I want to know what you've learned," said Gaara, walking around his desk and leaning against it. "Someone tell me, what is a ninja's duty?"

Hermione's hand shot up. Typical.

"Yes?" Gaara said, gesturing towards her.

"A ninja's duty is to finish the mission, whether their life forfeit or not," she said.

"The exact textbook answer," said Gaara. "No, that's not it, though. Some of the stuff in the textbook is a load of crap."

Hermione looked absolutely crestfallen and the rest of the class looked stunned. Hermione never failed to answer a question correctly. I sighed. This girl was too 'by-the-book' to understand the true depth of the question.

"You remind me a lot of a friend of mine," Gaara said. "Haruno Sakura, very smart, and could memorize anything in a book. But you've got to learn the deeper meanings of things."

The bell rang.

"I'll award house points and extra credit to anyone who answers the question correctly," said Gaara-sama. "And you can't ask Arata for the answer, I'll know if you did."

I sighed and stood, running my fingers through my grey-black hair. I collected my things and left before anyone else. I wanted to get to the tower.

"Arata!"

I turned to see Hermione Granger of all people running towards me, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley hot on her heals.

"What?" I asked bluntly.

"I-I was hoping," she asked, embarrassed, "that you might help me figure out what the answer is…"

I looked at her. She'd never done this before, to my knowledge. So I sighed again.

"The answer is within here," I said, placing the tip of my finger over her heart. "Just, put yourself in the same position as a ninja and think about your duty, your real duty, and you'll find you answer. It's slightly different for everyone."

"Good god, woman, will you just give us a straight answer?" Ron asked, exasperated.

I looked at him, bemused. "But then you'd never learn anything," I replied.

"Well said, Arata-san."

We all turned around and saw Gaara-sama balancing a large crate and several other unknowns.

"Umm, Kazekage-sama, where's your gourd?" I asked. "I was wondering about that during class, it's… unnatural…"

"Oh, it's I a small scroll I carry on my person at all times," he said, shrugging.

I just stared at him. That would leave him vulnerable for too long.

"Kazekage-sama…"

"Don't call me that," he snapped. "It makes me feel older than I really am."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Are you… complaining?" I asked.

"You try being called Kazekage everyday for the last six years and you tell me whether you feel thirty years past your prime," he said.

"Huh," I said. "Well, you're still at a swinging twenty, so I guess that should negate all thoughts of old age, shouldn't it?"

Gaara stared at me, calculating.

"How old are you, Arata-san?" he asked.

"Umm, fifteen, why?"

"You seem much older… from the way you act."

I nodded slowly. "Um, okay," I said just as slowly. "Well, I'm going to the common room where I can focus on my studies and figure out why life is a bitch!"

I ruffled Gaara-sama's hair and waltzed away.

"Did she just-"

Gaara-sama sighed.

"I need to talk to Baki… soon."

I just smiled and went o up to the Gryffindor tower to finish homework. I then went down to the great hall for dinner. This time, people looked at me. I ate my dinner in silence and then went back up to the tower to do more homework. At fifteen 'til ten I went down to the Room of Requirements for the DA meeting. As soon as I entered all eyes fell on me. And a second later, I was bombarded with questions about the Kazekage. Man these people could interrogate!

"SHUT THE HELL UP YOU CRAZY HOES!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

All was silent.

"I don't know too much about the Kazekage, only what I hear from friends and my father," I said slowly. "Furthermore, we do not have a romantic relationship. I'm not my speed and he's not mine. Furthermore, I only just really met him today, so the possibility of ever knowing him is dashed. I only know of him because of others, especially my dad, who was his instructor when he was rookie eight years ago. Gaara is five years my senior and my boss. That would be a very unprofessional relationship. The Kazekage is expected to marry a non-ninja female to stay home and raise the kids. I repeat, I don't know too much about him!"

"But what type of girl does he like?" Padma Patil asked eagerly.

All but a few girls looked at me eagerly.

"Don't even think about it," I said.

"Why not?" Padma asked indignantly. "Do you like him?"

I laughed. "That's hardly the case," I said. "The fact is, no one in this room is Kazekage-sama's speed."

"What do you mean?" Cho Chang asked.

"Well, Gaara-sama's not at all shy about his relationships," I said scratching the back of my head. "I do think I could name only about twenty of the girls he's dated… and all of them are fast."

"How do you know?" Lavender demanded.

"Well," I said, shrugging. "There's this girl I know, a neighbor, who went out with him for all of a month last summer. She was a fast little thing, came running to me with all the dirty details. But he ditched her, said she wasn't what he was looking for. It's not really that big of a deal. It happens."

"What do you mean?" Padma urged.

"Well, no one can hold on to him," I said. "A lot of girls like him, and the girls in my village are just waiting to be the next in line to shag him, just to say they did."

"What about you?" Dean Thomas asked, a sharp tone to his voice.

"I think he's dead sexy," I said bluntly. "But that's nothing to go on at all, as I said, a lot of girls want him back home, and there's no way in hell I'd just be another fuck-chapter in a guy's story. So, to answer your question, I don't like him, I never slept with him, and I have of intention of being romantically of physically involve with a guy five years older than me."

The girls all sighed, probably thinking that's one less rival. I sighed mentally. I wondered how many of these girls in Hogwarts would he would sleep with before they realize what they've become.

"Anyway," said Harry, grabbing everyone's attention. "Let's get back to practicing the bat-bogey hex."

I was always paired with Neville. He was a sweet guy, and he was really getting better at defense. But, it was clear that I was so much better that Harry took over practicing and sent me to assess the other charges. It was fine, but the girls kept asking me random questions about Gaara-sama. How the hell was I supposed to know what his favorite color was? Why the hell would I care to know what his favorite food was? What did I look like, an online dating service or the host for _Blind Date_?

At the end of the session I decided to avoid the common room for a while and go to my favorite place to think, the astronomy tower. When I arrived, I saw that, unfortunately, I wasn't the only one who saw the serenity of the astronomy tower. My Kazekage, Sabaku no Gaara was standing there with a hawk on his arm he glanced back at me for the briefest of moments before sending the hawk off. I smiled as I approached him

"You know," I said, looking out at the bright moon. "People around here use owls, not hawks."

"I've noticed that in the mornings," said Gaara-sama.

I smiled.

"You know you should be in your common room," he said. "It's past your curfew."

"I'm a big girl, I can take care of my self," I said lightly, flashing him a smile.

"Yes, you are," he said.

I looked back at the moon so I wouldn't embarrass him by seeing him check me out. It was a guy thing. Heck, it was a girl thing too. So it was no big deal. I checked him out when I first saw him too. It's a natural reaction.

"The moon is so pretty," I said dreamily.

"I wish we could watch it back in Suna," he said.

"There would be less smog," I smiled. "So we'd not only see the moon more brightly, but we'd also see more of the glittering stars."

There was a moment's silence.

"Arata, are you… going out with anyone?" he asked.

"Blunt much," I smiled at him. "No, I think boys are stupid."

He looked at me oddly.

"I'm not a lesbian!" I laughed. "I'm straight, I swear. It's just that, I don't want just any guy, you know? Why would I date someone I don't like? I guess… I haven't met anyone who could light my fire yet."

"What are you looking for?"

"I don't know," I said, looking up at the moon. "But I know I want someone who can make me feel like a woman without pressuring me to do something I don't want to, and I want someone who can take care of me, and who can make me smile when I'm crying."

I looked back at Gaara.

"So, you want a man," he said.

I smiled. "I guess I do," I said. "But enough about me, what about your love life? Who's the lucky girl this time?"

"No one, I've taken a sabbatical from the dating game," he said promptly.

"What about that nice blonde girl daddy told me about?" I asked. "Kali?"

"I ditched her," he said. "She wasn't what I was looking for."

"In other words you got tired of just shagging her whenever you were together," I said shrewdly.

Gaara flinched.

"You truly are **brutally** honest," he said. "Yes, I got tired of fucking her."

"I never learned how to lie," I smiled. "But are you sure you can survive the sabbatical without cheating? I mean, it really is good for you to give it try… but you haven't gone a week without…"

"Yeah, I know," he said. "But I'm tired of the same thing over and over."

I smiled. "Then that means," I said brightly, "You want something more in a girl than a good little shag. That's good."

"Well what about you and your sex-life?" Gaara argued.

"I'm as pure as snow after a storm," I said with a finger to my lips. "I haven't even received my first kiss! You're not going to find any dirty-laundry in that closet."

Gaara chuckled.

"I can't win against such honesty," he said.

I smiled and held his face.

"You tell me when you meet Miss Right," I said. "I want to know when you've found your happy medium."

He looked at me for a long while. I let my hands slide down and I smiled.

"Well I better get going to bed before one of the prefects report me," I cheered. "Good night, Kazekage-sama."

"Arata," he called. I looked back at the door, surprised he used my name so casually.  
"Just call me Gaara," he said. "And with not tile it we're alone."

I smiled. "Alright," I said.

And with that a disappeared down the stairwell.


	3. Chapter 3

**Stage Three: Back off, Chang-ho Witch**

The rest of my week wasn't as smooth as I hoped. Outside of my own tower, even Slytherin girls were coming to me with advice about how to deal with my Kazekage. It was annoying. Almost as annoying as their glares, especially when Gaara-sama went out of his way to talk to me. His siblings and his student didn't stay, so he was usually here on his own. They only showed up to give him his daily mountain of paperwork. But the girls seemed to be stuck on believing I was any possible competition.

"_It's all your fault, you know_," I complained the following Sunday when the Kazekage found her skulking in the library.

"_What's my fault_?" he asked.

"_Before you came along, I was a lovely little loaner that no one gave a rat's ass about_," I vented. "_Now I'm the most hated girl in the school just because I know the hot new ninja teacher! God, man, girls are sooo whack_!"

Gaara raised his eyebrows as he combed the shelf for a book on wizard and ninja history. I was held whatever book he pulled out.

"_You think I'm hot_?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes and scowled.

"_Men_," I said. "_You start ranting and all they pay attention to is what pertains to their_ _**sex drive**_…"

Gaara smirked. "_I heard everything you said_," he said lightly. "_You're pissed because my presence near you invokes envy in your fellow classmates. And you think I'm hot_."

I glared at him.

"_Could you please take a sip of the reality cup_?" I asked. "_God, men are so_…"

"_So_?" he pressed, stepping down from the latter.

"_Urgh, there are no words to describe it_!" I wailed.

"Hush, girl," said Madame Pince. "This is a library!"

I scowled again.

"Forgive us, Persephone," Gaara said, turning on the charm.

The librarian blushed and nodded. "You'll be checking those out?' she asked, her eyelashes fluttering.

I almost groaned with disgust. All this fan-girl stuff was way worse in a place where it didn't usually happen. I thought I was going to choke if we breathed the same frickin' air.

"Yes," said Gaara, taking the books from me.

"Okay," she said with a coy smile and disappearing behind the counter.

"Pff, _play-boy_," I muttered. "_Turn the charm up, I don't think she's hyperventilating yet_."

"Urusai," said Gaara. "_I'm doing you a favor, she might have taken house points_."

I rolled my eyes. The girls in the library were glaring daggers at me. They tended to congregate wherever Gaara-sama was. I suppressed a shiver as Madame Pince handed Gaara his books.

"_Can I go now_?" I whined.

"_No, you've already mentioned you're done with your homework,"_ he said. "_So, you're going to help me with my paperwork_."

"Jesus Christ, you're a bloody slave-driver!" I cried.

"I'm your Kazekage," he smirked.

"Hey, Arata!"

I groaned and turned to see the Slytherin girls, all smiling angelically at Gaara-sama.

"Hello, Parkinson and friends," I said. "_Go on ahead, Gaara-sama, I'll catch up._"

He shook his head. "_You'll just ditch me altogether_," he said.

"We were kind of hoping you'd come to Hogsmeade with us this weekend," Parkinson told Arata. "You can bring your friends."

She glanced at Gaara-sama. I looked at her, as if she were and imbecile.

"I don't have any friends," I said slowly.

"What about…" she trailed off as she glanced at Gaara-sama again.

"He doesn't count," I said, shaking my head.

"What do you mean?' asked the Slytherin sluts and Gaara.

"Well, you're my Kazekage and a bloody slave-driver," I reasoned. "I'm the only person here who can empathize with the life of a ninja, or I highly doubt that you'd be speaking to me. And Parkinson, he's a bloody **teacher**. No matter how much you try to fix yourself at his speed, he's still your fucking **teacher**."

Gaara looked at Parkinson apologetically, and then dragged me away by the back of my collar. Parkinson was giving me the glare of death. I'd just publicly stated, right in front of Gaara, that she wanted him. I guess I deserved her glares. Hell, I deserved to be slapped.

When we got to Gaara's office he threw me on the couch.

(any conversation between just Arata and Gaara- alone without others around- is, from henceforth, in Japanese)

"Ittai," I said, rubbing my head.

"Are you a bloody idiot?" Gaara asked coldly.

I rolled my eyes. Always resorting to violence.

"No, I have a medical condition that keeps me from lying," I said. "You know that."

"Arata, have you ever stopped to think that it's your brutal honesty that's kept you from making friends?" he demanded in the same cold voice.

"Yes, I have," I said, rolling my eyes. "But there is nothing I can do about that!"

Gaara punched the wall less than an inch from my head. I looked at him, my eyes wide. I think… for the first time… I was afraid of him.

"I can tolerate your honesty," he growled. "I find it refreshing because I have people lying their asses of to me all the freakin' time. But you need to watch it, because there are people who won't hesitate to resort to violence."

I looked up at him. His expression softened. He muttered something. I could only catch a bit.

"… close enough to kiss…"

Was my Kazekage talking about me? Or was there some metaphorical meaning to his words?

We stared at each other for a long while, then there was a knock at the door. Gaara sighed and stood up straight, tossing the books onto the couch beside me.

"Come in," said Gaara.

In walked Cho Chang, carrying her book for the ninja class. I never particularly liked her. She always had a taste for the popular and/or famous. That's why she decided to go after Harry when Cedric died. Anyway, Cho smiled at Gaara in a shy flirting way, not at all what Gaara would go for. She caught sight of me, sitting on the couch, scowling, and suppressed a glare.

"Hey, Arata," she said. "How's it going with you and Harry?"

I knew what she was playing at. She was trying to make it look like I was unavailable, like I was a two-timing whore.

"Not much going on," I said, shrugging. "We've never really talked much, as I'm sure you're aware of."

I'm sure that caught her off guard, or she would have answered me.

"Well, Kazekage… erm… Professor," she said, blushing. "I sorry, I'm not sure what to call you…"

"Gaara-sensei's fine," he said, collecting a stack of papers that he'd dropped.

"Gaara-sensei," she said, blushing eve deeper. "I was hoping you'd help me understand something in the first chapter, about chakra…?"

"Sure," he said, shrugging. "Arata, file these… the cabinet is in the next room."

"_She wanna fuck you,"_ I sang, like in Neo's song.

Gaara rolled his eyes as I left the room. It was a large stack of papers. But Gaara's system was simple enough to follow. When I was done, I invaded what was so clearly a snack box and nicked his Vanilla Wafers. The price of tyranny. When I went back to the office, Cho Chang had her arms wrapped around Gaara-sama's neck and she was kissing him passionately His arms were slowly making their way around her hips. I damn near dropped my box and my stomach curled in disgust.

"Jesus Christ, I think I'm gonna hurl," I said, covering my mouth.

The two leaped apart.

"Arata-" Gaara began.

"We were just-" Cho stuttered.

"Sucking face, yeah, I know," I said. "I'm not gonna tell anybody, so relax."

I still felt a little sick. "I'm gonna go before you two give me indigestion," I muttered, making my way towards the door.

"No, Arata-san," said Gaara, almost too urgently.

Cho looked at me while his face was turned. It was a triumphant smirk. What the hell was that about?

"Gaara-sama," I said. "_You're going to break your sabbatical._"

He hesitated.

"Miss Chang," he said. "I think you'd better leave."

"What?' she said. "But…"

Gaara gave her a finalizing look.

"Can I come back?" she said, standing up.

He didn't answer. Cho pouted, then left.

Gaara stood up.

"Arata, that was-" He began. "She came onto me… I swear it wasn't anything different and…"

I just waved my hand. I wasn't in the mood for excuses.

"I'm not going to tell anyone if you start sleeping with the students," I said, rubbing my temples. "You just need to know, these girls are very different from the ones in Suna. Most of them will expect a commitment."

Gaara made to reply but I raised my hand to stop him, then I left. Why the hell would I care that he was making out with the Ravenclaw whore? Why the hell would I _care_ that he most likely would have screwed her if I didn't walked in? The guy was raving mad! I was so consumed with my inner ranting that I didn't notice I'd already arrived in the common room.

"Hey, Arata," said Fred Weasley.

"How does chakra work?" George finished.

I sighed and did a seal for summoning my chakra.

"You use the body's physical energy and your spiritual energy at the same time, in perfect balance," I said.

I could feel the chakra welling up. I decided to make shadow clones.

"Kage-bunshin no Jutsu!" I said.

Then two clones of me appeared. Everyone cheered. The two clones disappeared in a puff of smoke, and I released the seal.

"Chakra is channeled through the human body," I said. "Once you learn how to summon chakra, you need to learn how to control it."

Everyone nodded.

It only struck me just then that everyone, no matter what year they were in, was taking the same course. I was the only one they could ask for help. Damn. I miss it when Hermione was the go-to girl. Anyway, I went up to my dorm and fell on my bed.

Why was seeing that skank wrapped around the Kazekage so damned irritating to me? I've seen it before, around the village when he took his girlfriends on luncheons or dates that eventually ended in them skipping the meal all together and… I cringed at the thought. I heard a tapping at the window and looked up. Gaara was standing by my bed, holding out a box of chocolates.

"Truce?" he said.

I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"You're not supposed to be in here," I said, taking a chocolate. "It's the girl's dorm room."

"I know," he said, sitting on the bed next to me.

"I do hope I'm not on any lists of students to-"

Gaara cut me off by putting his hand over my mouth.

"You're not, you'd probably bite my dick off before anything ever happened," he said.

"Well, only if I was unwilling," I said slowly, "So yeah…"

Gaara twitched.

"That's mean," he said.

I shrugged and began eating my chocolate.

"Ne, Gaara," I said, falling back on my bed. "Why do you spend your spare time here when you can be in Suna?"

He shrugged, leaning against a post.

"No reason, really," he said. "I have to leave next weekend to deal with some issues, though."

"What kind of issues?" I asked, staring at the ceiling.

"Marriage issues."

The words rolled off layered with contempt and poison.

I looked at him.

"Marriage issues?" I inquired.

"Arranging a marriage seems to be the counsel's hobby," Gaara seethed.

"What's so bad about that?" I wondered. "That means no dating game. And if it doesn't work out, there's a little thing called a divorce. Pren-up, baby."

Gaara rolled his eyes. "The problem is that it's the Mizukage's daughter," he said. "The middle one."

"What? The ho?" I said.

"Yes," he said. "I may be a play-boy, in your oh-so-delicate words, but I have never cheated on anyone. I would like the same courtesy in a wife, at the very least."

I snorted. "Good luck," I said, turning on my side. "It's an arranged marriage."

"That's what I mean," Gaara said. "Besides, I like to do these kinds of things myself."

I looked back up at my ceiling. "I guess you'd make a decent husband on the fact that you have a dislike for infidelity," I said. "But… seriously, Mika of Kirigakure?"

"That's why I'm going to go reject the wedding invitation myself, otherwise the girl will get it in her head that I accepted her invite due to the counsel's dim wits."

I snorted.

"What if she's persistent?" I asked, sitting up.

"I hadn't thought of that," he said, irritated.

"Well, I have a solution for that," I said. "Find a friend with benefits, marry them, and then it's not really a marriage because you're not bound emotionally. I've always thought legalizing marriage was wonky."

Gaara looked at me. "But I'll still be married," he said. "Even if it was a friend…"

I smiled. "Then I guess you're just SOL," I teased.

He glared at me. I suppressed a shiver. I kept forgetting what a dangerous man he was. Even under the gaze of a glare as playful as this.

"You're just mean," he said.

"Well," I shrugged. "The truth hurts. But I have another plan, just be really mean and creepy like you are when you're angry. Trust me, that'll scare anyone away."

Gaara raised an eyebrow.

"You suggest using fear?" he said thoughtfully.

"Or say you have someone to marry in mind," I said. "Both work just fine."

Gaara leaned towards me real close.

"Would you consent to being my excuse?" he asked quietly.

"Maybe, but that depends on my mood when it's time to go, doesn't it?" I said. "Don't hold your breath."

I could feel his breath on my face. Gaara didn't move away, rather, he held my attention with his eyes.

"I know what you're doing," I said quietly.

"What is that?"

"You're trying to get a reaction," I said. "You're trying to see if you can seduce me."

Gaara smirked, and then leaned away.

"You're good," he said. "It's just I've never come across a woman who has never made a move."

"I'm just a kid," I said.

"Quite the contrary," he said.

"We are not going to discuss my eligibility or sex appeal," I said.

"Why not?"

"Because it's weird and creepy."

Gaara laughed.

Just then, my other dorm mates came in, giggling. They spotted Gaara and all mirth halted. Hermione flushed and stared at him, shocked.

"Y-you can't b-be here," she said in a small voice. "I-it's not possible."

Gaara smirked.

"You mean how the stairs turn into a slide when a male reaches the fifth step?" he said, bored. "I just came up the outside wall."

I pushed him. "Dude, it's not easy for them to walk up a wall," I said. "You're so insensitive."

"_Bite me_," He said.

"Don't tempt me, it'll hurt," I said.

"Um, Profes- er… Kazekage," said Hermione.

"Gaara-sensei," Gaara replied. "My other student calls me that."

"Matsuri's not your student anymore," I said. "She's just a year younger than him. His first student too!"

"You really need to shut up," Gaara said.

"And you really know that eyeliner on a guy is kinda gay," I snapped.

Hernmione covered my moth.

"Shut up," she hissed.

Gaara kicked me slightly. I pushed Hermione off.

"Geeze woman, you're so aggressive!" I said. "Lavender, do something about this woman!"

"It's NOT eyeliner," Gaara said.

"It's insomnia," said Hermione, showing her skills.

Lavender and Parvati both looked at her, not really surprised. Hermione was going to go into explanation mode.

"Anyway," said Gaara, standing up. "I've got things to do. Arata, don't forget to finish looking over the teams."

"Yes sir," I said, inclining my head. I did that whenever he gave me a direct order.

"Oh, and your father will be here on Tuesday, I suggest you meet him."

I nodded and he left. Out the window.

"Did he just jump out the window?" Parvati cried, rushing to the window to see if he survived.

"Pshaw, he could've taken the stairs, bloody show-off," I said.

"He could be hurt!" Hermione said. "You're so insensitive!"

I looked at Hermione, seriously annoyed.

"He," I said, "is Subaku no Gaara, the strongest man in this Generation of Suna. He has complete control over sand and has only been seriously injured just a few times in his life. I can assure you a fall from that height wouldn't even scratch him, he won't even hit the ground unless he stepped off his sand."

"You're still insensitive," Lavender said. "You said you weren't interested In him, but he was sitting on your bed. You always say mean things to him, and yet you still lead the man on! I'd be willing to bet you've slept with a dozen other guys too!"

At that I slammed Lavender against the wall in less than a blink of an eye. I had a kunai at her throat and a glare on my face.

"I will have no disillusionment," I said. "I could quite honestly say that I have never even had my first kiss. And furthermore, I am not leading Gaara on. He is my boss, and he is the one who talks to me. Not the other way around. If you ever insult me by calling me a slut again, I will send you to the hospital wing."

"Arata," came Hermione's shaky voice.

"No, this girl needs to realize that even if she had the chance to date that man, he'd just shag her and leave her, like dozens of other girls," I said. "He'd admit it if you asked him."

I dropped a gasping Lavender.

"I wouldn't suggest insulting a ninja," I said. "Just because we're dorm mates doesn't mean I won't kill you. It's the law that does that."

"Y-you're a freak!" Lavender shouted, Running out of the room.

I followed with a smirk on my face, walking slowly. When I got downstairs everyone was staring at me with varying looks of shock and fear. It was honestly very amusing.

"What?" I said.

"Did you really almost kill Lavender?" Harry said after amoment's silence.

"Please," I said, scoffing. "There would be no trying, if I really wanted her dead, trust me, she'd be dead."

"Just answer the question!" Seamus Finnegan snapped.

"No, I did not try to kill Lavender Brown," I said, rolling my eyes.

"But you did attack her," Harry pressed.

"I warned her," I said. "You people really need to understand where I'm coming from. In Suna, it's about Honor. As a ninja, you don't want to be dishonored by slanderous insults that are entirely unfounded. I won't hesitate to silence anyone who dares insults me in such an undignified way."

"What the hell did she say to piss you off?" Fred asked.

"She basically called me a slut," I said. "Which isn't true."

"How the hell do we know?" Lavender hissed. "We all know you're chasing after the Kazekage!"

There was collective muttering. My eye twitched.

"I have no intention in going out with that pompous, domineering playboy," I said, point-blank. "For your information, I am more interested in my career as a ninja, and it's very promising. I have no intention of compromising my personal future by sleeping with my boss and when I dump him he'll give me all the boring missions because he's surly. Let me reiterate. I. Do. Not. Want. To. Date. My. Boss. Clear enough?"

"That isn't a good enough reason to hurt Lavender," Cormac McLaggen said.

"I didn't hurt her," I said. "Well, maybe she has a bruise or something, but that's because she doesn't know how to have a proper fist-fight. Even muggles can take worse than that. Wimp."

Lavender glared at me.

"Arata," said Harry, approaching me. "You shouldn't be doing things like that, even if your boyfriend…"

"HE ISN'T MY FUCKING BOYFRIEND!" I shouted. "Jesus Christ! Fine! I won't pop your little egos!"

I picked up an armchair and threw it at a wall with such force that it shattered.

"ARATA!" Harry shouted.

"Oh, piss off, you freaking hypocrite," I said. "I was venting!"

I glared at everyone and did the first thing I could think of, I jumped out the window. I heard screams. I ignored them in my free fall before using my chakra to cling to a wall, then landed on the ground gracefully. As soon as I landed, more trouble ensued.


End file.
